I apologize for the week delay on this round-up. I was traveling for a family wedding and attending the wedding and traveling home during the time I would have written this and gotten it posted.
In May, I returned from a social media hiatus and suggested twenty-two (22) stories and poems along with throwback stories and poems on the weekends. Throwback stories are stories I suggested when I started doing this in 2021.
Inn Worlds published in March:
The Spellbook of the Moth Witch by Devan Barlow
A beautiful story of “after” ecological destruction of what becomes of moths and humans.
A Sign Hangs From My Hunger by Amabilis O’Hara
Some stories defy explanation and just need to be read.
The Astral Dream of Passage by Antoinëtte Van Sluytman
A dream reflecting on grief.
Blue by Ian Creasey
A contemplation on mortality.
Home on the Hillside by Emmylou Kotzé
A mystery of the missing.
Small Wonders published:
Echo Syndrome by Jennifer Hudak at Small Wonders in February
A story of the splintering of selves at different life stages.
The Lure of Blackberries by R.L. Summerling in March
I’m ripping invasive blackberries out from a large chunk of my yard, so this poem is relevant for me.
Bite by Bite and Lie by Lie by Malda Marlys in April
A story about living long and the death of gods.
False Beet by RJ Aurand in April
A poem of growth and death and nourishment.
Hungry Ghosts by Miranda Rain in April
This has got a stinger of an opening line.
Crepuscular Magazine published:
[deadname] Clone Blues by Jarune Uwujaren in January.
A micro story about clones in the way they always are, horrific.
Things Aren’t Always What They Seem by Melanie Mulrooney in March.
The title describes the story well.
Reactor published Evan: A Remainder by Jordan Kurella in 2024.
A story about transition and boyfriends and skeletons and bones.
This was a 2025 Nebula Award Finalist story.
The Birth Will Take Place on a Mutually Acceptable Research Vessel by Matthew Bailey was published at Lightspeed in 2016.
This is, sadly, super relevant 9 years later.
Tales to Terrify published Every Day’s a Party (with You) by Christi Nogle
A story of faking it through Christmas – sort of. In Christi Nogle’s horrific way.
Everything We Lost in the Apocalypse By: Mar Vincent was published at Strange Horizons in May.
A heart-wrenching story told in a title and 2 sentences.
Diabolical Plots published Laser Eyes Ain’t Everything by Effie Seiberg in
May.
Always ask why and don’t discount anyone.
Fall Into Water, Become Someone New by Christi Nogle was published at Drabblecast in 2024.
The singing, “someone new,” and references to stew before the end build the tension.
Haven Spec published Touched by Emmie Christie in 2022.
A sweet story amidst heartbreak.
The Age of Reason by Gretchen Tessmer was published at Nature: Futures in May.
On this US Memorial Day, have a story about memories and making a memorial.
Underland Arcana published The Pack by Christi Nogle in 2022.
A beautiful story of illness and death
The Last Great Repair Tech of the American Midwest by Ellis Nye was published at Reckoning in 2024.
This story dives in and keeps up with the punches. (In a good way.)
I was doing some catch-up reading of my favorite magazines that I’m subscribed to, along with award reading, and, as always, reading the work that gets put in front of me on my Discord, in my writing groups via Discord or forums. I’m still working on catching up. If only I had a summer to read all the short fiction in my queue.